Fashion pulse: South Korea - March 2026

Consumer prices (March 2026)

Consumer prices (March 2026) Clothing and footwear prices in South Korea rose 2.1 percent year-on-year in March, according to Statistics Korea (data accessed via the Bank of Korea ECOS API), essentially matching the +2.2 percent headline inflation reading. Within the fashion basket, clothing prices rose 2.5 percent — with menswear at +1.6 percent and womenswear at +2.3 percent — while footwear prices were essentially unchanged at near-zero percent year-on-year. Korean shoe prices have now been effectively frozen for twelve consecutive months. Headline inflation ticked up to +2.2 percent in March from +2.0 percent in February, breaching the Bank of Korea’s 2 percent target and reaching the highest reading since December. Transport prices (+5.0 percent, from +1.1 percent in February) and housing (+1.5 percent) drove the rise; clothing and food moved in the opposite direction, with food inflation at +0.5 percent — the mildest reading since February 2020.